Britain warns that Russia could attack civilian ships in the Black Sea and then blame Ukraine. This would certainly appear from intelligence information, the Ministry of Defense in London announced on Thursday evening.
The British assume that Russia could use sea mines near Ukrainian ports for this purpose. The government in London had already accused Russia a few weeks ago of an attempted attack on a civilian cargo ship in the Black Sea. “The world is watching – and we see through Russia’s cynical attempts to blame Ukraine for the attacks,” said Secretary of State James Cleverly.
Moscow wants to blame Ukraine
Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships and instead blame Ukraine for such attacks, the London ministry wrote. By publishing this assessment, they wanted to expose Russian tactics and prevent possible attacks.
According to the British assessment, Russia could attack civilian ships sailing in Ukraine’s humanitarian corridor to prevent the export of Ukrainian grain and put further pressure on the country’s economy. The US government had also warned of Russian attacks.
Moscow canceled an agreement in July to export Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. According to British information, Russia has since damaged a total of around 130 port infrastructure facilities in Odessa, Chornomorsk and Reni. Nearly 300,000 tons of grain were destroyed.
Abkhazia announces Russian naval base
On Thursday it was announced that Russia wants to station part of its Black Sea Fleet in the Ochamchira district of the Republic of Abkhazia, which split from Georgia. This is said to be intended to strengthen the defense capabilities of both partners. By stationing ships in Otschamchira, where the Soviet Union already had a naval base, Russia could relieve its fleet, which is under pressure in Crimea.
The headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol on the Russian-annexed Ukrainian peninsula was recently repeatedly attacked by Ukraine. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Russia has already withdrawn a large number of its ships from the Crimean Peninsula.
Source: Krone
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